Sophie FitzOsborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny
island kingdom of Montmaray with her eccentric and impoverished royal family.
When she receives a journal for her sixteenth birthday, Sophie decides to
chronicle day-to-day life on the island. But this is 1936, and the news that
trickles in from the mainland reveals a world on the brink of war. The politics
of Europe seem far away from their remote island, until two German officers
land a boat on Montmaray. And then suddenly politics become very personal
indeed.

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Quotes & Awards

“Teens and ‘tweens will be tearing through the novel’s second half by the night light.”

Amazon.com, editorial review

“A smart and stirring choice to usher fans of the Brontës into the twentieth century.”

Booklist (starred review)

Starred Review, Booklist, September 15, 2009:"A smart and stirring choice to usher fans of the Brontës into the twentieth century."

An Amazon Best Book of the Month for October 2009

Listener Opinions

Angela | 1/28/2014

" well - this one was sort of slow for a while, but interesting enough that I stuck with it until the end. It's the first of a trilogy, so will probably pick up the next one because this one ended well . . . "

Shawn Thrasher | 1/27/2014

" A slow start made me almost put this down. Mostly because of the time period (1930's) and the subject (royalty, vaguely British) I decided to stick with it, and I'm glad. The second half made the dragging first half worth. I still don't think the journal format totally worked at the beginning, and the characters were almost a bit stock and sometimes a bit flat. But the exciting second half sold me on the book; Indiana Jones meets Hilary McKay (The Exiles) or Jeanne Birdsall The Penderwicks.). "

Heather | 1/25/2014

" Good, interesting - not mesmerizing, and the pace lagged a bit in places, but I liked it. I'm not sure Cooper's doing anything revolutionary here. The characters are unfortunately all a little stock (wild tomboy little sister, lazy playboy-older brother, bookish big sister), and I found the whole idea of Nazis looking for the Holy Grail on a tiny island to be a Deus Ex Machina out in force - in drag, wandering down a busy street holding a large sign that says "Hey! See this book! I'm its god-of-the-machine! Yeah, ME!" But ok, despite that, I liked the atmospheric tension Cooper built in that creepy old castle. Something about those orphans hanging out in it, fending for themselves with no real adult supervision, took this story from a fairy tale to something a bit more grim, which I liked. And if most of the characters are a bit stock, I liked that Sophie, the narrator, may not be. Time will tell, of course (and yes, I plan to read the sequel), but her claims at being more shallow/boring/uninteresting than her siblings and cousin of course just raises the flag that she might, in fact, end up being something more. The lagging pace was really just that much of this book felt like a set-up for either the end, or the second book. But I'll give it three stars for the compelling descriptions of that cold, windswept island, for a surprise ax attack I DIDN'T see coming, and for a journal-scribbling narrator I generally liked. "

Kathleen | 1/21/2014

" I'm especially aware of the pacing with audio books. 3 discs of setting the scene, 1 of intense activity, and 3 of resolution makes for a pretty boring pace. "

Wendy | 1/19/2014

" Really enjoyed the story, and the premise, of this first in a trilogy. Very accessible read for youth. Looking forward to starting the second book. "

Julie | 1/13/2014

" It was alright, expected better. "

Johanna | 12/1/2013

" I really liked this. It reminded me of Alan Bradley's book. "

Tanya | 11/27/2013

" Really loved the idea behind this - very engaging, lots of fun. "

Elisa M | 11/25/2013

" Frankly, I found this book rather boring. Nothing at all seemed to happen until about 2/3 of the way through, and the last 1/3 didn't even come close to making up for it. Read I Capture the Castle instead- it's way better! "

Abby | 6/11/2013

" I felt like this should have been really good- especially with it's comparisons to I Capture the Castle- but it just wasn't. It never really picked up for me, but just got weirder and more unbelievable. I mean, a kingdom with no subjects? What is the point? "

Carly Thompson | 11/2/2012

" I got about half way through before calling it quits. The narrator was rather arch and the story was a watered down version of I Capture the Castle, which was a much better book. "

Nancy | 1/27/2012

" Very slow beginning; action doesn't begin until 3/4 of the way through. Several possibilities but not the 'wow' factor I was hoping for. Would not appeal to most teens. "

Jamie | 9/26/2011

" I don't like books that don't tie up the story. Even you're going to throw in a mystery, at least resolve it somewhat. All those pages to set up some other book. Also, soooooo much like "I Capture the Castle". But not as good. Good sense of humor. "

Tessa | 5/17/2011

" Simply loveley! Reminded me somewhat of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, but also uniquely it's own story. The narrator is wonderful and the characters (especially Veronica) are so well written. A great adventure :)
"

April | 5/10/2011

" Very charming. It reminded me of I Capture the Castle.
"

Josie | 4/25/2011

" Perfection!

(A lot of people have compared this book to I Capture The Castle and yes, there are similarities, but in my opinion you can never have too many books about girls who live in castles with their mad families. So there.)
"

Neeuqdrazil | 4/25/2011

" An interesting read - I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it.
"

Alexa | 4/20/2011

" A tiny kingdom on a small island! How could I not be enchanted by this book? Unfortunately, the excitement in this book starts about 150 pages in--too far to convince my historical fiction-hating book club to read this one.
"

Other Titles by Michelle Cooper:

About the Author

Michelle Cooper lives in Sydney, Australia.

About the Narrator

Emma Bering is an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator whose readings include The Second Empress by Michelle Moran, Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers, and A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper, among many others.

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